News & Events

To learn more about the art of Cambodian y cooking, sign up for the Cambodian Cooking Class (Map p79; @012 524801; www.cambodian-cooking-dass .com; 67 St 240), based at Frizz Restaurant. The cooking class costs US$20/12.50 per full day/ half day, includes a booklet of ...

Cay mam di truoc, cay duoc theo sau. Roi den dua nuoc.
(First come the avicennas; followed by the mangroves. The nivas come close on the heel.)
The mangrove supplies coal and wood to build houses on stilts along the water ways. A small motorboat takes us from ...

Ba Vi National Park
Located in the commune of Tan Linh, Ba Vi district, about 50 km west of Ha Noi, Ba Vi National Park is the ideal destination to escape the heat. Upon arriving at Ba Vi, you will feel the fresh air that is quite contrary to the stuffy, warm ...

No-one knows how many plant species live in Cambodia because no comprehensive survey has ever been conducted but it’s estimated that the country is home to 15,000 species (including 2300 vascular plants), at least a third of them endemic.
In the southwest, ...

Take your time to learn a little about the local culture in Cambodia. Not only will this ensure that you don't inadvertently cause offence or, worse, spark an international incident, but it will also ingratiate you to your hosts. Here are a few top tips to help you go ...

The early 90’s of the 20th century saw Viet Nam opening itself to the West.
Such a movement started once before, timidly it is true, in the 80’s of the last century, when the “white peril” was making itself felt more and more keenly.
In the light of ...

Traveling by balloon or by bike
In the ancient capital of Bagan, you can participate in the very special tour on a balloon. Admiring countless golden pagodas, enjoying hovering over the city are truly special sensations. Bagan is famous for this service of 16 ...

Strolling along the tree-lined Phan Dinh Phung avenue, a tourist passing by the northern wall of the ancient citadel of Ha Noi can see a gaping hole left by the shells from a French gunboat in 1873, the year which saw the first fall of the fortress to the French ...

The community organizes collective travel to the new village, and builds temporary shelters on the periphery of the new cleared site. The council of elders and the priests allot the land distribution per family after having chosen their places. The houses are ...

As mentioned earlier the choice of site, conducted by the council of elders and by ritualists, is based on the availability of natural resources and religious considerations. The traditional egg ceremony is no longer practiced in Gnang Luang and Dong Nyeung villages. ...

Between 1991 and 1994, the different communities grouped over a new irrigated scheme in the Nam Ma valley, Long district, where there remained some irrigable land potential. The conditions for success were linked to medical care for the communities for at least three ...

King Norodom I was succeeded by King Sisowath (r 1904-27), who was succeeded by King Monivong (r 1927-41). Upon King Monivong’s death, the French governor general of Japanese-occupied Indochina, Admiral Jean Decoux, placed 19-year-old Prince Norodom Sihanouk on the ...

With my wife and children nodding a hearty approval, I put a picture of Française Corrèze, my French friend, on our ancestors’ altar. Passing away 2 years ago, she thus shares the “cult of incense and smoke” (huong khoi) with the spirits of the dead in the ...

As in the case of the Kinh, who make up the majority of Viet Nam’s population, many of the smaller ethnic groups have preserved their customary Jaws through the ages despite historical and social changes. Most of these communal regulations are transmitted orally down ...

In Ay village, the preparation for a birth does not involve any particular ritual.
After birth, the man has three days of abstinence from alcohol and food, while the woman rests for 30 days, lying near the fireplace. The man takes care of everything during this ...

A quarter century has passed since the end of the American war. The number of Vietnamese settling in the United States has continued to increase. Recently, while reading the “ 2001 Annual Bulletin of former high school students from schools in Nam Dinh, Nguyen ...

Obviously, Viet Nam’s cultural identity has been affected by 80 years of French colonisation. Some persons from the upper social strata prided themselves on speaking French fluently and despised their mother tongue which they considered fit only for the nha que ...

Tonkatsu is a fried meat dish served with a sweet brown sauce. Due to the seasoned, nutrient-rich and fatty meats, this dish should generally have a little more cabbage fibers.
Oyakodon means "rice bowl of parents and children". Chicken, onion and eggs ...

Most Vietnamese peasants have never heard this magic password at which the door of the robber’s cave flew open in the tale of the Forty Thieves (Arabian Nights). And yet for centuries sesame has been a popular food in the Red River delta, the cradle of Viet ...

With the Thailand 2 weeks itinerary, you can explore the walking street. It is located in the heart of downtown and Jomtien - the south. By day, this is a market with a lot of clothing, pictures, jewelry, gems, handicrafts and souvenirs. But at night, the whole ...

Very early one morning my five-year-old grandson Ngoc Khanh jumped out of bed and whispered to me with great excitement: “I dreamt of But last night and he gave me cinnamon crackers!”
“Are you sure you dreamt of But, not of Doremon?” I teased ...

Traditionally, marriage was arranged by the parents. At present, the young can bring their own views. Monogamy is the predominant form of marriage. The customary exogamous patrilinear relationship is losing ground. Residence is not clearly differentiated, but generally ...

The Whale Tomb is a situated at a side of Hoang Hoa Tham road, in a spacious and breezy enclosure, as part of a of architectures which also consists of shrink of the tutelary god of Thang Tam and the Ngu Hanh temple.
In about the middle of the century a very ...

Just around a headland south from Karon, Kata is an interesting beach and is divided into two – Ao Kata Yai (Big Kata Bay) and Ao Kata Noi (Little Kata Bay). The small island of Ko Pu is within swimming distance of the shore and on the way are some OK coral reefs. ...

According to some travel agency, until now, the number of bookings tour is nearly full and is expected to increase 35-40% over the same time last year. The market this year, visitors focus on short-term tours, island tours, many domestic tours have been filled, some ...

In the three days 1, 2 and 3 May (it means 6, 7 and 8 April lunar calendar), people in 3 communes of Thanh Khuong, Tri Qua, Ha Man (Thuan Thanh district) jubilantly held the Dâu pagoda festival of 2017. The festive space extends the area of Dâu with 5 big pagodas ...

1. Custom of "visit to bed" of the Muong
It is an ancient custom of the Muong. Thus, boys who are already adults are allowed to "visit to bed" at the girl they love. Girls often light a lamp as a sign for young men to go to bed at her home. If ...

The clearing of the declaration draft was not without an element of drama. Latin American countries, Argentina, Venezuela, Cuba, Ecuador and Nicaragua, almost stalled the proceedings, demanding that the term “restrictive measures” be removed from the draft. They ...

One of the main objections of the Latin American countries to the declaration was the absence of any reference to farm subsidies rich countries, especially the US and European nations, give to their farmers. These subsidies depress food prices, making it difficult for ...

“We get the best of talent but due to low wages and career stagnation, a number of officers are leaving their job,” says Chadha. The officials have to live and work m remote areas with poor infrastructure and no protection from poachers, mafia and Naxals, adds B S ...